We are glad to have Craig back on the podcast. He’s the guy from Burnaby who not only did the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 KM cycling event, he also did his very first Ironman just 20 days before.
Of course like any athlete, he has had challenges just making it to the starting line. But have you been shot while riding your bike? He has and tells us about that dark night in the Fraser Canyon.
Also in the interview we find out how Craig got into multisport racing and what he has been doing to stay fit and safe during this whole Covid-19 thing. Hear it now by pressing play below.
Fitspeek is brought to you by Tri*Joy} The Spirit of Multisport. We are your local multisport coaching connection. Wanna get fitter or faster? E-mail us for a free Zoom consultation & goal-setting session.
Fitspeek presents a quick update on what the Abbotsford Triathlon Club members are up to. In the absence of “in the flesh” racing for the near future, the club, lead by organizer Chris Osberg, are offering you a chance to race in a virtual duathlon race series. The first event is coming up this weekend and ATC’s Chris & Coach Mikey Zoomed by to fill in the details.
The annual duathlon at UBC in Vancouver was held today. After hibernating a bit over the past months, I pumped up the tyres on the Softride and went racin’.
Here’s the race report!
Well THAT didn’t Suck
Sato
Hydrosloth’s 2020 UBC Duathlon Race Report
Doing
a “traditional” (not snow-based) multisport in Canada in early
March is a privilege not a right, and it’s one of the main reasons
that my wife and I moved out to the Fraser Valley from Alberta back
in the early 1990s. Unlike “real Canadians” who relish skiing,
skating, and watching golf on Sunday afternoons for six months of the
year, I’d rather be swim/bike/running, outdoors whenever reasonable.
So it was with that attitude of gratitude that I brought to the start
line of my 15th shot at this early season event. Here’s
the story.
Lead
In
Cautiously
optimistic. I went into the race moderately well-trained, in good
health, and at a decent weight for March (158). Some persisting hip
issues scared me away from doing much high intensity running but run
frequency and length was spot on. The week before the local race, I
had my first physio session with local meanie, Angela Froese. She
told me a lot of stuff and did painful things to me and by the
Thursday before the race my stride was pure enough to really do some
pretty stupid stuff.
From
a biking perspective, I had an average (3 x / week) lead up. Born
agains find God, I found Zwift and was converted, until my one week
membership lapsed and I was back on the ComputerTrainer doing ERG
mode intervals. As effective. Not as sexy.
Another
conversion was becoming a half-assessed vegetarian. That happened in
November. Primarily out of laziness. Secondly out of curiosity. Never
one to go “all in” I don’t eat meat about nine days out of ten.
One of those MEAT days was the night before the race, ham &
pineapple pizza from Ricardo’s. Yum. Paired well with the South
African red blend. Six ounces of moderation. Ten PM bedtime.
Equipment
I
had a lot of fun with my mid 1990s vintage Softride Road Rocket over
the winter so, that bike (along with some sweeeeet Zipp 404s) made
it’s return visit to UBC after an absence of about a decade. The
folks in the bike check in line up were amused.
In
my water bottle on the bike was another red blend. Twelve ounces of
water (more or less) with 3 ounces of pomegranate juice with 4 scoops
of dextrose with 1/2 a teaspoon of F2C salt. The mixture was lovely
as I decanted it for 72 hours in my swimming gear bag.
With
much too many running shoes options, I opted for age over beauty. My
first 5 k were done in a pair of no-name orange shoes from The Bay,
comfortable and light. The second pair were the 2011 Pearl Izumi Tri
Shoes. No laces to screw with, would make transition a snap!
The
big question for the race prep, of course is what to wear. But
forgetting stuff back at home, was a brilliant solution to fretting
about what ensemble would be “just right.” 3/4 length tights (yes
underwear!) and a very tight fitting Under Armour compression shirt
would have to do, rain, snow, or shine.
AM
Of
An
early (8:15) start meant being up by 4:15 and coherent by 4:50. Just
enough time for toast, an antacid pill, coffee, and greeting Mikey at
the garage door. The soothsayers calls for snow and rain were wrong.
Cloudy and 5 as we pulled put of the driveway, cautiously optimistic.
No traffic issues as Mikey navigated to Vancouver.
Parking
was done by 6:15 and shortly thereafter my bike was being scrutinized
by a hawk-eyed mechanic. After he stopped laughing at my slack chain
he handed it back to me and said, “nice bike.” I’m sworn to
secrecy as to what he said next. But I was allowed to race.
The
usual set up chores were done with great joy because a) there was no
wind or rain b) we had the bike racks to ourselves. After small talk
with race officials and club member we headed back to the car for
more coffee and gel. Then back to transition for more gel still (but
apparently not enough) and the caffeine pill. After a bit of warm
up, it was on with the timing chip, adjust the heart rate monitor
alarm limits (148/162) and off to the start line.
Run
1 (what’s with this?)
Without
much of a warning the horn went off. I was a bit slow to get the memo
and found a flock of 20 ahead of me. Silly me. After a few awkward
maneuvers I positioned myself in a reasonable spot. The ATC kid,
Chris O was about 40 metres ahead of me and wearing bright green, an
easy target for when he starts to fade. After three minutes, I had a
short moment of self-satisfaction. My running stride was pure! Well
pure enough. Like 93% pure. This could be a race (unlike last year).
Well,
I guess the rest of the folks ahead of me got the race memo too
because we were rolling hard and not slowing down. Even that slight
uphill in the first two k was done at a pretty stout pace. I wasn’t
catching anybody. But I guess a few folks had their hearts set on
catching me. First was some female with as good of form as she had
flowing hair, secondly was some old kid with grey hair. Scherbey
learned to run over the winter!
Despite
dropping a couple of places in the last k of the run, my morale was
high. My stride felt fine and just important, Mikey and Craig Premack
were where they were supposed to be. Behind me. But how far back? At
the out and back before transition, it was all revealed.. Chris with
a lead of about a minute, Dean S, about 30 seconds, and Craig and
Mikey comfortably behind me.
Transition
1 (smooth runnings)
In
previous years and in warmer weather, I chose to use gloves. Not this
year. It was a wise decision. In the blink of an eye, I was out of
transition and spinning joyfully up the modest hill. In another
blink, Scherbey was passing me again. This was not a surprise. But
could he hold the pace? Let’s find out!
Bike
1 (going for bronze)
After
passing a few of the sprint triathletes, I found some clear road and
began to make some watts. The Softride tracked confidently down the
hill and around the first two turns. Things were feeling fine. Maybe
too fine? Yep! So after a swig of my sugar water, I bared down and
lumbered down the hill. At the spot along Marine Drive where the
trees give way to a vista of the ocean a microsecond of gratitude
swept over me. What an amazing day. No rain. Hardly any wind!
Just
about 300 metres from the Marine Drive turn-around, I was afforded
another progress check, Chris had increased his lead, as did Dean. I
was cautiously optimistic. The lack of wind was a joy on the return
trip back to the end of the first loop. Also a joy, was a very
relaxed and strong dude who seemed to be toying with me. He was
upbeat, and just chatty enough. Then he was gone!
The
2020 version of the duathlon race course was my favourite ever. The
designers did a great job of highlighting potholes, dividing traffic,
and providing ample signs to let you know where you were supposed to
ride. Hurrah for them! I didn’t even get lost this time! I was off on
my second lap and excited about the chances of me picking up some
places as experience, most assuredly, would trump youth and vigor on
this day. I guess the caffeine was still doing its job!
I
took an even more aggressive shot at the downhill onto Marine Drive
for lap two, in a serious but not foolhardy attempt to bring back
Chris and Dean. My strategy was to gently increase my intensity to
the point of blowing up, gently backing off, and then repeating. It
was ineffective. They easily maintained their widening margins as
they became smaller and smaller and smaller.
Transition
2 (That’s what she said).
At
the intersection of too much testosterone and lack of oxygen is a
place called race brain. Being the master of a smooth downhill
dismount, I was a bit, um disappointed to see the path to my bike
rack clogged with amateurs. So with the grace of a mallard duck, I
got off my bike and ran to the left, around the leisurely moving
people. This move did not go unnoticed or appreciated. Even worse,
was when the witness was a very keen race official. She quite
assertively instructed me on how she wanted me to enter transition.
Apparently I got it wrong again and was kindly requested to do it
again… her way. Apparently I got it right and was allowed to rack
my bike.
Run
2 (Objects are further than they appear).
Another
microwave of gratitude passed through my body as I left transition. I
was running again. And it was really running, not the “oh my god I
must have just donated a gallon of blood” style of running. I hope
the woman in green was also expressing some sort of similar gratitude
as she rocketed past me, as if I had just donated a gallon of blood.
Again,
it was either the caffeine or the natural endorphin from being in the
heart of a battle that gave me indefatigable and unwarranted
optimism. I was suffering in a good way and excited about what may
happen in the final twenty minutes. Feeling quite confident that my
divorce from cramping was now permanent, I began taking chances,
burying myself, recovering, doing it again. The net result = nothing.
I passed nobody, but perhaps more importantly at this stage of a
race, nobody passed me. Scherbey’s white jacket began growing
bigger. This could be interesting! A quick check of my heart rate
monitor told me nothing I could understand. Just breathe, run, and
hope. At the final turn-around, hope turned to to fear, as both Chris
and Dean were steadfast in maintaining their leads and a rallying
Craig yelled at me, “there’s still enough room for me to catch
you!” But unlike many, many, other years when I would cramp going
up the last hill, my legs were solid and I was able to push harder
and finish strong.
Stats
& Smart Ass Comments
Run
1: 21:05. Really? I don’t think I’m that fast…. yet.
T1:
1:28. Just say no to gloves, no matter what! I am Canadian.
Bike:
*Included bonus time for Mr. Bonehead. 38:52. I have ridden 39
minutes nine times at this race but on this day, conditions were
never finer, at 56 my cycling is about as strong as it was when I was
42 =)
T2:
1:16. Keep it simple. No gloves. No laces. No bullshit.
Run
2: 22:48. Here is where the lack of hard runs showed itself. Probably
a cardio thing. Legs were solid.
14/69
overall. A confidence booster. A fast crew this year. The kids did
well. More sugar please. Meat or no meat? Don’t matter. Tell Angela
to needle me on Monday!